SK and The Missionaries

 There is nothing quite so challenging in a marriage than being together all day - every day, and all night - every night.  The last eight years for me has been been quite an adjustment.  Lately, I have been looking at SK and wondering how difficult it must be to be married to me.

He is perpetually happy and for the most part, even-tempered.  His temper flares every once in a while like a flash storm that rumbles a couple of times and then passes over.  He might bluster, or complain, but then he is back to the same SK.  I think it is gift.  It is a gift he has developed, and it may have partly come with him.  But it is also a gift he gives to me.

The times that SK gets stressed to the point of blustering are in the car.  He wants to know exactly where to go, and when and how.  We have a GPS system in the car, and it is excellent.  Once in awhile, I revert to Google Maps on my phone.  But basically, he wants me to be watching road signs on the roads and to the side, and he wants me to keep track of the GPS.  When we miss a turn or lose our way, it drives him crazy.  But he settles down and we eventually get there.

So far, since we got here, he has been negotiating his way around magnificently.  We drove into London Sunday to take the Oxford Elders to exchanges.  One of them returned to his home in the states, and the other stayed in London until his new companion came in from the coast.  Today, the Oxford elder and his new companion were put together and needed to return to Oxford.  With COVID spiking again, it really isn't safe enough right now for them to take public transportation, so we were asked to drive in to bring them back.

And as if the trip itself weren't stressful enough, one of the elders asked if we could take a detour to the Paddington Train Station.  He had left his scriptures on the train a couple of weeks ago, and they were turned in, so he was eager to reclaim them.  I spoke to the elder on the phone as we were on the way to London, and that's when he requested if we could drive him to the station on the way home.  While it is only a couple of miles from the mission home, the ride in the car is slightly hair-raising.  I said, "Of course!"  When I told SK, there was a flash of "Absolutely NOT!"...a harumph and a grumble.  Then quiet.  We got to Hyde Park Chapel and picked them up.  SK let the young elder give him directions to the station, we found a parking spot and waited for them....and then found our way home, without so much as a frown from SK.  See?  He really is amazing.

A round trip to London basically takes about 4 hours.  That trip includes a lot of freeway driving and a lot of very busy traffic patterns in a huge city.  It is stressful for an 18-year old with nerves of steel, but for a 77-year old, well---for a 71-year old (me) it is beyond doing - I simply will not get behind the wheel.  He sits on the right side of the car and he drives on the left side of the road.  It is quite an accomplishment - he is doing great.  Each of the other senior couples do a lot of driving in getting the young missionaries to their places of service.

We packed a sack lunch for them because we picked them up at 11 and came immediately back.  They were pleased with the sandwiches, fruit cups, cookies and soda pop.  The new elder is from Ghana, and speaks four languages.  If he speaks the other languages like he speaks English, then he is remarkable.  We chatted for the first hour on and off, and the last hour I began to get drowsy.  The last hour, SK is fine in getting home without the navigator.

But as I was sitting there in kind of a trance, I had the distinct impression that we had precious cargo in our back seat.  Clean as can be, freshly pressed, polished shoes and sharp-looking, those two missionaries in the back seat were at once mature and knowledgeable, and young and innocent.  They are enthusiastic and optimistic, and I just know that the Lord loves them.

Then I looked at SK.  In some ways he is as eager and optimistic as the young elders, but he has spent a lifetime learning wisdom and learning to bridle his emotions, and he is doing a whole lot better than I am.  I am pretty sure that the Lord loves SK for his goodness, his steadfastness and his kindness - among so many other things.  What's not to love about that guy SK?

I think this is such a charming scene!

As we sat waiting for the elders to come out of the train station, SK chuckled.  Then he pointed to a sign, and said, "That's what you did!"  (Marry Stanford)